Misanga
by Aiko Isari
Summary: Post-canon. Time passes easily with all of its ups and downs. During his first summer in college, Ryouma decides to get a job. It's an experience, to say the least.


_**A/N:**_ So... hi! This was an idea kind of inspired by a couple of different anime or manga: anohana, Your Lie in April, and Love So Life, each for somewhat different reasons. All of them are wonderful series. I'd suggest checking them out, though Love So Life isn't available for legal reading yet I think. Your Life in April and anohana are however, available for legal streaming on crunchyroll without an account. So. Shameless plug over.

**Challenges:** Dicing Up Songs Challenge for the song Blue Bookmark Galileo Galilei, Valentine's and White Day Advent: day 13, write a reincarnation fic. and the what-if: What if Ryouma was, for whatever reason, forced under the same roof as Tagiru?

**Warnings:** Past character death, grief, reincarnation, shonen-ai, asexual character.

Please let me know what you think!

* * *

1\. Going Through Plenty of Pages

_In February, two weeks before his fifteenth birthday, Kudo Taiki died._

_The doctors proclaimed it due to cardiac arrest. They said that he had had a condition, that he should never have been pushing himself as hard as he did. Like somehow, it was his fault that the world was in danger and he was the only one with the peace of mind to negotiate it being all right on the other side of the fighting._

_Like it was his fault that some Digimon, some people, would always be insane._

_The funeral wasn't very large, but all of us were there. Some of us cried. The snow fell and made the ground the color of bones. His mother never shed a tear, and said this was the only way he could go out: for others._

_We all wondered, even now, I think we still do, if she was being strong for us, or really all right. She was an adult, and we were kids. Somehow, it didn't seem fair._

_No one dared to ask._

_Even so, fiction lies. For some people, grief consumes, takes on a life to replace their own, to replace the one that had ended. That wasn't us, though oftentimes we thought it should be. No one could say if it was for his sake or ours, but we struggled forward anyway. We lived._

_We continue to live._

* * *

A phone alarm rang through a somewhat clean bedroom. It echoed off of the thin walls. One of the occupants let out a long-suffering groan.

"Ryouma, shut your damn phone off..."

Ryouma muttered obscentieis into his pillow, fumbling for his cell. Peering at the screen, he managed to lift his head. "Tagiru, that one's yours…" He dropped his phone back into the cradle and closed his eyes again. It was too early for it to be this hot.

Tagiru let out another noise against his bare back. It tickled a bit, and Ryouma squirmed. "I got it," Tagiru grunted as he rolled over, and there was a clatter of plastic to carpet. Tagiru cursed. "It's a Monday, isn't it?"

Ryouma laughed despite how sleepy he was, forcing himself to sit up. "No, it's Tuesday. How long were you up last night?" He knew cram school took a lot out of his roommate, but he hadn't thought it'd be that bad. They were a week in.

"Whatever the time was, I blame it on you." Tagiru sat up from next to him, rolling to grab the fallen annoyance from where it was whining into the carpet. "You and your..._whatever_." Despite the complaint, he began to trace lazy patterns over Ryouma's spine as he rolled back over. Ryouma hummed to the touch.

"My refusal to wear a shirt to bed in the summer?" Ryouma tried not to laugh. "You're the one with the staring problem."

"Bleh." Tagiru rubbed his amber eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Whose turn on breakfast?"

"Mine." Ryouma flicked his ear. "Go wash your face."

Tagiru rolled his eyes, tossing a shirt towards his head. "Want me to brush my hair too?"

"Well, we know how hopeless that is, but if you want to break another brush," Ryouma yawned, pulling it out of his vision. "Do go right ahead."

Tagiru pouted a bit. "You're an ass, you know that?"

"Well, it's good to know you're aware of basic biology." Ryouma caught the goggles thrown at his head. Second time's the charm. "Careful, I might keep them." He left the room, pulling the shirt over his head.

At some point in high school, hanging out had transitioned to friendship, and some time later to just physical affection for no good reason but because. Ryouma wasn't sure he could really say they were dating, then again he couldn't say they weren't either.

He decided not to laugh too loudly at the expletives Tagiru was spewing at the wall (which were directed at him) and went to the fridge. The contents, or lack thereof, made him sigh. Probably his turn to go to the store as well. Maybe he could convince Tagiru to go with him. Less complaints about unusual buys that way.

"Yuu is dropping by to make dinner today," Tagiru said when he entered the kitchen a few minutes later.

Ryouma quirked an eyebrow, taking a sip of water. "Why?"

Tagiru shrugged. "He said he had a recipe he wanted us to try and Ren is working late at the convenience store again."

Ryouma fiddled with the stove. "That would explain it. Suppose I can't complain. You do prefer Yuu-kun's cooking to mine."

"You say that like I think yours is horrible." Tagiru poured himself some water for tea and rubbed his eyes. "Urgh, I have classes today. Why did I choose something in _education_?" He pouted at Ryouma, as if to prove a point. "We're living together. We're…" He flapped his hands in a way that Ryouma had learned to identify as exasperation with his lack of a useful vocabulary for all things sentimental. "_Involved. _You should have talked me out of it."

Ryouma mussed his own hair with a snort, making a mental note that he needed a haircut. Badly. It was starting to creep past his shoulders again. "If that's the case, you really should have asked to live with Yuu-kun. _He_ would have talked you out of it."

Tagiru almost rolled his eyes. "No, he'd be doing the same thing you are: enjoying my suffering." He took the plate Ryouma passed him and muttered his thanks before eating. "Besides, I think your best friend would have decapitated me or something. He tried once."

Ryouma rolled his eyes and sat at the table, beginning to eat. "Ren can be a tad clingy, I know."

"To Yuu, especially." Tagiru sighed and paused to swallow. Thank god, Ryouma hadn't liked the last time he'd had to stop Tagiru from choking. "You have that job interview today, right?"

Ryouma let out a tiny groan, but nodded. "At the daycare. They needed a new assistant." He idly began brushing his hair with his fingers. "It will be a fun experience, I think."

"You really take after Taiki-san too much." Tagiru reached over and mussed his hair, causing him to pout. He was trying to be _presentable_. "All this running around and helping people, being all social." He mimicked fainting into his chair.

"So says the physical education teacher." Ryouma glanced at the clock. "You should probably hurry. Your class starts in thirty."

Tagiru swore and bolted from the chair.

Ryouma sighed and hid a smile. Long proximity with Tagiru was certainly an _interesting _experience.

* * *

The train screeched to a halt and Ryouma caught himself on one of the overhead handholds. He cracked his neck with a grimace and checked his stop. With a sigh, he dropped back into his chair, tugging at his suit jacket. Yep, he was _definitely_ going to switch laundry detergent brands. Ryouma sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't afford to fall asleep, though it was so tempting. "Maybe I should go pick up a coffee..." He couldn't keep it in the house, gods knew what Tagiru would do if he actually drank any

He yawned and jolted forward as the train came to an abrupt halt. _Well, that woke me up, I guess. _He headed down the stairs, intent on getting something relatively caffeinated. _This really is what I deserve for letting Tagiru keep me up with that show last night. At least it wasn't as bad as that last one, banshees in the walls. Real monsters are bad enough… _

As he joined the queue, he saw a little boy leaning to put some money onto the counter. He stood on his toes, and somehow Ryouma found himself with the image of this child trying to fly. The cashier's lips quirked with the effort not to giggle as the child attentively put up coin after coin. "Done," he finally said, tiny voice clearly proud of himself. "¥575." He then proceeded to watch, eyes focused on each coin as they were put into the register. Minutes later, it closed with a tinkling noise.

"Yep, that's right," she said, smiling at him. "Good work, Miharu-chan. Go wait with your Nii-san and your order will be out soon, okay?"

"Kay!" He turned and hopped away, skipping to a nearby table. One of the customers in line let out an agitated snort and another stepped on their foot. Ryouma ignored it, following the child's path to make sure he didn't run into somebody suspicious or something. _I worry too much…_ The boy made it to someone and waved his little hands in excitement. The figure laughed and picked him up, which ended up moving his hair from his face.

Ryouma blinked, then rubbed his eyes. He hadn't imagined that, had he? "Hideaki-kun?"

Either Hideaki's ears had sharpened over the years or the cafe was quieter than he had thought. The man's head snapped up and his eyes traced over the room before they alighted on Ryouma. A grin quirked itself wide on the other's face and Ryouma realized that yes, his guess had been right. "Hey!" Hideaki lowered the child to the floor and rose to his feet. "Didn't think I'd see you in a place like this," he said, walking over. The boy was at his heels, big eyes puzzled. Ryouma flashed him a quick smile, but the boy's expression did not ease.

"I think I should be the one saying that," Ryouma replied, moving up and placing his order. As he counted out the coins, he asked. "Who is that?"

"Ah." Hideaki tousled the boy's hair, who did not relax. "He's my nephew, Miharu. I've been asked to take care of him for a while. Well, demanded, really." He glanced down. "Miharu, this is my friend, Ryouma. I knew him from school."

Miharu's face softened from foggy to curious sun and he bowed his head. "Pleased to meet you."

Ryouma tried not to laugh. That was the most adult like face he had ever seen on a small child. "Nice to meet you too." He took his coffee and watched Hideaki take his own. "Where are you two headed?"

"I have work in forty-five minutes," Hideaki said, shaking his head and looking outside at the summer heat. "So I'm dropping this kiddo at daycare. You?"

Ryouma sighed. "Job interview at this place." He showed Hideaki the address. "Do you know which way to go from here?"

"Sure, I'm dragging the kid there. I'll walk you."

Ryouma felt his shoulders sag in relief. "Thank you very much." He could find his way, but one of the most awkward things to admit was your lack of good direction sense. being late would be unbearably rude.

Hideaki snickered. "Anything to save your lack of a GPS."

* * *

"Miharu, slow down. We're old!"

"Speak for yourself."

Hideaki laughed, watching Miharu slow down at the corner, hopping from one foot to the other.

Ryouma chuckled. "Awfully excitable for such a quiet kid." It was almost Tagiru, if Tagiru was quiet. So possibly Yuu.

Hideaki snorted. "You should see him with Sunmon. He sometimes gets on top of the TV stand."

Ryouma scratched his cheek, looking up at the sound of something leaping from one streetlight to another. The Elecmon waved a claw at the pair of them, then leaped away again. Ryouma's fingers twitched for the Xros Loader he no longer carried. "A partner?"

"Supposedly." Hideaki let out a small sigh. "He's not well liked, we'll put it that way."

Ryouma snorted. "Adults." Teaching their children fear. The world could do that all by itself.

"_Us." _Hideaki said the word like a sigh.

Ryouma sighed himself. That was a very good point. "Well, we'll have to try to make people get used to it, I suppose. That was what we worked so hard to begin with." _That was he had worked so hard for._

"He left the world in good hands," Hideaki said in a grave tone. He whistled and Miharu clung obediently to a streetlamp.

Ryouma shoved him, almost knocking the taller male to the sidewalk. "Don't ever be serious again."

Hideaki snickered, grabbing Miharu's hand when they finally caught up. "Fine. You're telling me how you and Tagiru haven't killed each other yet."

Ryouma laughed. "I've been wondering the exact same thing."

He wasn't sure if the confused look on the little boy's face was cute or hilarious.


End file.
